Sports

Tony Gwynn's family settles wrongful-death suit against tobacco company

Described in the suit as "hopelessly addicted," Gwynn, who died at 54 in 2014, used smokeless tobacco for more than 30 years.

Written ByBob Hille

Late Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn's family has reached an out-of-court settlement with the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, ending its lawsuit in which it accused the company of "killing a baseball legend," USA Today reported Friday.

Terms of the settlement weren't made public, but the family's attorney told USA Today that the suit has "been resolved to the satisfaction of all the parties involved."

The case was scheduled to go to trial in September 2019.

"We assess litigation on a case-by-case basis and determined this agreement was in the best interests of the company," U.S. Smokeless Tobacco spokesman Steve Callahan told USA Today.

Gwynn, who died at 54 in 2014, was described in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his family in 2016 as "hopelessly addicted" to smokeless tobacco, sold by the tobacco company as products such as Skoal and Copehagen moist snuff. Gwynn was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland in 2010, yet was unable to kick his tobacco habit.

According to the suit, Gwynn — one of the great hitters of his generation who also coached baseball at his alma mater, San Diego State, after his retirement — had used smokeless tobacco for more than 30 years, starting in 1977, about 10 years before the government began requiring health warnings on snuff tins and chewing tobacco pouches.

A 15-time All-Star, Gwynn had 3,141 hits and led the NL in hitting eight times during a 20-year MLB career, all with the Padres. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

Baseball banned in-stadium use of smokeless tobacco on the minor-league level and among players new to the majors beginning in 2017 in its most recent collective bargaining agreement, and MLB has voiced support of local municipal bans on its use that includes major-league stadiums in cities such as Boston and Chicago.